Texture
by FluffleNeCharka
Summary: The affections, quirks and the views of people on everyone's favorite female Irken: Tak. Four DwickyTak drabbles, four TakGretchen drabbles, one BillTak drabble, and one MembraneTak drabble. Done for an LJ community.
1. MemTak: Rough

Life has been rough for Professor Membrane.

When his wife died, his heart broke. She was so simple, gentle, quiet, shy, loving. Without her life didn't seem to work quite as well. Food tasted worse. He couldn't bring himself to do the dishes. His plants died, the puppy ran away, and suddenly his own house repulsed him. It was a nightmarish reminder of her. He felt sick.

And so off he went to do good. She would have liked that, would've wanted him to help people. Super Toast, improved healthcare, advances in every field of science. He was always at work, always keeping an eye on something, and always going somewhere. An endless parade of tests, experiments, problems, solutions. With it came the mindless praise, the chatter of idiots thankful for the good he'd done.

But no one ever touched him. No hug, no smile, no pat on the back, nothing. In spite of it all, in spite of how happy she must've been in heaven, he still wanted her here. He wanted someone to love. Gaz was her mirror image, but not her.

Then the lonely Professor had to deal with his son going insane. Insane ramblings about things proven to not exist, things that had never been investigated by real scientist. He was always causing problems. Fighting, swearing, accusing a child of being a big foot, trying to raise the dead - not that his father could blame him for wishing his mother were alive. But she wouldn't have wanted to come back. She'd have wanted them to move on, because she was so selfless the idea of anything else probably never occured to her.

When Dib brought _her_ home, his father could've cried.

A girl who was into science was uncommon. A girl who was a genius in it was rare. All that plus beauty was something he'd just dreamed of. She was so smart, this British girl, so smart and fast talking and well read that Dib fell by the wayside as his father finally found a person worth talking to in the twelve year old girl. Maybe it was a bit rude to ignore his son, but finally, oh, finally, at long last, someone who wasn't a moron!

She was engaging, charming, self confident. Her voice soothed him and made him laugh. She was polite and a good listener. He never had to explain things to her, she always knew what he was talking about. A few times, she even had to explain things to him. He was happy enough to scream. It had been years since he had felt so at ease with someone. It had been years since he'd really looked at a woman as being attractive. He couldn't remember being this happy.

It only made things harder on him when her eyes glittered, sparked, in fact, and he couldn't remember anything else. Dib told him he'd talked to her and gone to bed as she and Dib went out for pizza, but that didn't explain the when, how and why of his wallet missing. His wallet, every credit card in his room, and a good many pieces of technology still in the early stages of testing.

Only a real genius could've drained him of all his cash in one night without triggering any of the bank's built in tracking systems and alarms. Then again, his cellphone and pager were gone too, so even if they'd tried, he couldn't have been reached.

She was a pretty girl and a brilliant scientist.

She was also a vicious con.

And he'd never been let down quite so rough.


	2. DwicTak: Cool

Tak is beyond cool.

She is beyond human perceptions and styles. All these teens labeling each other is one breath and whining about the harshness of labels in the next do nothing but annoy her. All these groups and sub groups and subcultures over defined by music make her roll her eyes. All these ramblings about who is cool and who isn't make her gag. These people are such idiots.

And the Earthlings love her. It makes no sense and has no rhyme or reason to it, but her utter disdain for them has made her a star.

They love how she doesn't care what trends are. Not anti trend, not trendy, totally not trying at all, she is the only real standout girl in a sea of girls who would kill to stick out so beautifully. The boys swoon at her totally neutral take on all of them. Tak has no set type of boy or set group she's diving into.

They all think they've got a chance with her. The girls cheered when she left, but they all cheered when she came back a month later and the news ran a story on the unfortunate death of Zim in a Delishus Weenie factory. She was so calm about it. So cool. They love her, love how good luck follows her wherever she goes and a stream of bad luck follows other people when she's around. She's almost magical, really.

They follow her, mimic her, mock her, love her, hate her, idolize her, talk about her. She doesn't care, barely noticing, and drifts through life without Zim growing more and more hateful towards humanity. She is so distant that only a good boy (or girl, she's not picky) will be able to pull her back from this life of not caring.

But for all her indifference, all her coldness and hotness, she doesn't ever look their way. Her eyes are looking somewhere else entirely. They say only one in every ten million teacher-student romances are started by a student.

Tak's beyond one in ten million.

She's cool.


	3. DwicTak: Itchy

She loves that whole 'nervous itch' routine.

It's so obvious, first of all. It's not as if anyone's fooled by this. Almost everyone who sees him try it giggles or rolls their eyes at his stupidity. The actions are painfully exaggerated and remind her of Skoodge being electrocuted. Only Skoodge, at least, knew better than to do such a thing with a giant, over done smile on his face. How Tak has even kept from laughing at the obviousness, she doesn't know, but she's about to fall over any second now. It just gets better every time she sees it, and like a car wreck, she can't avert her eyes.

Oh, he _thinks_ he's being subtle as can be. She can see it in him, see in his goofy smile that he has no clue how much of a tool he is in this moment. He thinks he's as covert as a ninja and as smooth as James Bond. He thinks no one has caught onto him, when in reality no one's caught onto her. Him? He's the talk of the bloody school right now! Is there anyone left who doesn't know how into her he is? At this point even Dib has caught on, eyes wide and jaw dropping. And the Dib-monkey's romantic experience is limited to those paranormal soap operas he watches.

Tak loves how utterly unromantic it is. It's such a goofy move. No one over the age of ten would find it remotely attractive. It takes her right back to her days as a smeet when no one knew what they were doing. Maybe's that it. Maybe he's such a moron in love he has no idea what he's doing, just like a smeet. Certainly she feels like a child when he's around, just because it's so stupid. Ignorant, almost, and made no better by the words 'it's an itch!' which only induce giggles in those around him. Yet she can't look away when he does _that_, that adorably pathetic little thing he does.

The scratching of the neck, the turning of the head, and big, googly eyes in her direction.

Tak is in love. Not with him. With his stupidity.

It's such an obivious, childish, innocent, utterly non self aware moment she can't help but smile faintly in his direction. He's an utter idiot, really, giving his heart to someone who honestly is doing her best not to give a damn. The man is a loon. She was never looking his direction before. She wanted Mr. Elliot, because he seemed like someone she could manipulate. She fell for Mr. Dwicky, because he held out his heart to her without a second thought. Let Gaz have her little blond bombshell. Tak doesn't want that idiot anyway. At least Dwicky is capable of being amusing. He's actually making an effort instead of sitting there being perky and empty like Elliot.

And when the principal puts his foot down to stop the perceieved flirting, Tak overhears and sees Dwicky cringe.

The next day, a plague of lice hits the school.

One itch and blushing googly eyes is the same as another, right?

So long as it's itchy.


	4. DwicTak: Silky

Silky. Soft. Enticing.

A voice lightly accented, British and a bit deep. Husky, soft. Always soft, always accented. She does not scream and shriek and cry. Her voice is not ignorable, however. It stands out among the screeches of her peers, a jewel among the rocks. Her voice carries. Her voice has power. Her words strike right into him, diving past that cold counselor's defense and into his mind. The accent drew him in, the intensity makes him unable to look away.

Her words aren't the words of a child. She speaks of things others her age can't comprehend - her journal was seized for having 'violent thoughts' in it, but it's impossible to put down for all the other thoughts in it. If you are not remembered, did you ever exist? Is there a way to tap into the collective unconscious of all humankind through technology? Is there such a thing as love, or is it just a biological impulse? Dwiscky is stunned, spellbound, amazed by her intelligence. Her voice is womanly and her mind is beyond that of most of adults. She could out talk over rule and put down anyone if she were in the mood.

But she's too far gone. Alarmingly distant. Her voice is the last trace of who she is that she'll let leak out into the word. None of her thoughts have ever been spoken aloud. Nothing she writes has ever been voiced.

And she's so silky, all of her. Her soft hair and silky blouses, her accented voice with its gentle harshness. The world deserves to see the real Tak. The world needs to see her, needs to know how awesome the mind within the teen is. If they only knew how deep her rabbit holes go, they'd fall at her feet and beg for more.

She puts up such a front.

He knows she's practiced and rehearsed her defenses until they are iron. He knows she thinks of herself as common, cheap as a penny. She doesn't think he really cares because she is an island: everyone wants to get close to her, no one wants to be a permanent member of her little world. But he does, he really does. He can see, through the layers of iron and copper and ice down to what she really she is.

Hurt. Betrayed. Angry. Loving. Smart. Searching for someone who knows she isn't a rock, not all at.

She's silky.


	5. DwicTak: Soothing

"I'm not weak." I snap at him. "I can walk."

And I stagger, kids giggling and snearing and thinking I'm cool all at the same time. Bloody idiots, all of them. I don't need their pity and mockery and laughter. This isn't big enough of an injury to require that kind of reaction. They all need to get back to their lives and leave mine out of it.

"Are you sure you'll be okay? I can get the nurse-"

"_Fuck_," I hiss, half under my breath. He hears anyway and falls behind me as I stubbornly stagger away. Every step sears through me and I want to keel over on the spot. "Weak little American dolts, running to the nurse for every goddamn _scratch_. Heaven forbid a real accident happen to one of your precious students. You might die from shock."

It sears. It burns. It aches. It hurts. The throbbing is constant, sharp knives of pain going right up my leg. But I am not going to stop and fall behind and cry like those little babies would. I'm going to go to the bathroom, wash the blood off my boots, and get the hell on with my life.

He follows, he won't leave me even as I enter the girls room.

My face is one of utter composure as I turn on the water and awkwardly rest my leg in the sink, letting water rush over it. The pain triples, but I say nothing. I will not be a wuss. The water sterilizes my Irken skin in seconds and back into the boot goes my foot. Safe from infection, I turn to leave, but he's blocking my way, eyes wide as can be.

"Doesn't that hurt?"

"Nothing hurts me anymore," I respond, and unlike every other person here, he sees the double meaning. "Now if you don't mind, I'd like to get back to class-"

"No."

I quirk an eyebrow at him. "Dwicky, do I sound like I was giving you an option?"

"You aren't the boss of the world," he informs me, and before I know what's happened, his hand clapses around my wrist. "I think you'll just have to skip school today."

I stare at him, unable to put 'school counselor' and 'suggested I skip school' together into one thought. In a single motion, he scoops me up into his twiggy little arms like it's nothing. His own past foot injury doesn't stop him from carrying me as if mine is a critical hit. In moments, we're out of the building and into his car. Dumbfounded, I try and form objections.

"Your reputation is going to be shredded, you fool!" I finally manage, and he shrugs.

"Look, school isn't all it's cracked up to be. Now let's just get you home, watch some Mysterious Mysteries, make some extra buttery popcorn, and you can call me names, okay?" he was a block away before he even finished his sentence. "I'll even show you the video footage of the aliens I met when I tried to help Dib. (That poor, insane kid.) How does that sound?"

Immoral. Stupid. Thrown together at the last second. A bad idea. Overly sentimental. A child's playdate. Over reaction to a cut on the leg. Batshit insane.

"Soothing," I say aloud, and he grins.

After a moment, so do I.


	6. GretchTak: Hot

"Aren't you hot in that?" Gretchen blurted out, and it was the first time Tak ever noticed her.

It's true, Tak would certainly be dying of heat if it weren't for her PAK's temperture control system. She'd probably be overwhelmed, in her long sleeves and dress combination, lounging about in the sunlit schoolyard. To outsiders she appeared to be sunning herself, but she'd never tan like humans did. Still, pretending to be irritated, she cracked open a kohl rimmed eye in the other girl's direction.

"There's a price to pay for being in style," she said in a careless tone, noting, "But I suppose you already know that, parading around in those big shoes of yours."

"Oh?" Gretchen's face went beat red as she stared down at her knee length orange platforms. "You like them?"

"Well, they wouldn't work for _me_, of course," Tak cringed at such an un-Irken color, "But given your natural coloring, they look quite nice. Much better than the Gaz-monkey's horrible _legwarmers_."

Gretchen giggled, and sat down beside Tak. After a moment, the sun's rays warmed her and she lay down alongside the other girl, who viciously tore into everyone's stupid clothes. The words impractical, flammable, hideous, and brain-poop came up quite often. Even though she'd always taken Tak to be the most vicious person on Earth with how she insulted some of the older girls, she was actually kind of normal. It was somehow more surprising than if she'd been insanely weird. The recess passed in a haze of stupid outfits and unstylish hair.

Gretchen reached up self consciously at that last comment, frowning slightly. "It's not like I'm not trying..."

Tak's pale, cold hands wove themselves through the other girl's hair, tugging out the hairbands in a mere moment. As the geeky girl sat there, startled, Tak finger brushed some of it down into her eyes until something resembling side swept bangs were accomplished, then she pulled the rest into two small buns on either side of the girl's head.

"Perfect," the bluenette declared, standing as the bell rang. "Much more complimentary than those lifeless pigtails."

"Really?" Gretchen blushed, feeling her hair gingerly. "You really think I look good?"

"Positively hot, my darling."

And with that, Tak left one very lovestruck, newly discovered bisexual behind her.


End file.
